Get Published Weekly Roundup: October 2, 2017

It seems like ever since the violent demonstrations here in Charlottesville, there has been just one national tragedy after another. Our thoughts are with everybody affected, from Houston to Puerto Rico to Florida to Las Vegas. This week's roundup covers agent & agency news, submission deadlines, Manuscript Wishlist highlights, and at the end we showcase industry folks donating their time, skills, and money to help alleviate the crisis in Puerto Rico.

We'd love to hear your feedback. Please let us know what you think in the comments and if there are certain types of information you would like to see in the Roundup. Also feel free to tweet at us (@freelancingrads) with any ideas or questions. Have a great writing week!

"Jennifer is very interested in diverse writers and #ownvoices from underrepresented/ marginalized communities, strong and conflicted characters who are not afraid to take emotional risks, stories about multi-generational conflict, war and post-war fiction, and writing with a developed sense of place. In non-fiction, she loves books that broaden her worldview or shed new light on 'big ideas.'"

Writers, you've got a little less than two weeks...

Who: Any poet of American birth who is able and willing to spend one year outside the continent of North America. There is no age requirement, and there is no requirement that applicants be enrolled in a university or other education program. While many recent winners have been published poets, there is no requirement that applicants have previously published their work.

What: A sample of your poetry, consisting of either (1) up to 40 typed pages (two copies) or (2) two copies of a printed volume of your poetry and two copies of no more than 20 additional typed pages. Scholarship award of approximately $58,000 (if there are two poets chosen, each will receive the full amount). Winners must travel outside the continent of North America for the duration of one year beginning in the summer of 2018.

A Public Space, three 2018 Fellowships—Submissions due Sunday, October 15st 11:59pm Eastern Time (Fellowships, Prose—$$ Prize + Publication)

Who: Writers who have not yet contracted to publish a book. International applicants welcome, but submissions will only be accepted in English.

What: Submit: (1) A cover letter with the following: a one-paragraph biographical statement, one paragraph that is a favorite of yours from a book you've read, be it recently or long ago, and a brief statement telling us why this particular passage is meaningful to you; (2) One previously unpublished prose piece. There is no word-count requirement. Fellowship includes: editorial support, publication in A Public Space, $1000 honorarium, opportunity to meet with members of the publishing community, and to participate in a public reading in New York City.

To Submit: Applications must be submitted through the Fellowship category in Submittable. For rules and other information, click here.

Nightmare on Query Street —Submission window open on Friday, October 13th from 4:00pm until 6:00pm (or until they receive 250 submissions, whichever comes first) EASTERN TIME (Contest, Chance at mentoring and agent consideration of your manuscript)

Who: Writers who are querying agents for book projects with completed manuscripts. All age categories and genres, excluding picture books and erotica. When their agent list goes live, check to see if they represent your book's genre, or if you've queried them already. We ask that if you find that you've already queried a majority of participating agents for your potential submission, please refrain from participating in the contest.

What: (1) SHORT paragraph (no more than 100 words) about your main character. This is the question you must answer: Your protagonist and antagonist bump into each other at a Halloween Party, only to discover their costumes are similarly themed. What/who are they dressed as? (2) Query (minus the bio and comparative titles paragraphs) (3) first 250 words (note: 251 words will disqualify you) of your manuscript. The organizers will make thirteen picks each from the 250 submissions, and those picks will go up on their blogs from October 30th through the 31st. Before the agent round, there will be a mentor round to polish up the query entries. To see the list of mentors, click click here.

What Agents Want

A shout out to Roller Derby, Race Car-Drivin' Ladies, and Monsters in Movies...

It may be evident from this #MSWL entry that Kelly (a.k.a Bible ThumpHER -- GO DAMES!!) has taken over the Roundup for the week. Lauren tweeted "Welp. I’m gonna need a roller derby book." Although Kelly never made it past Level 1, Roller Derby will always have a special place in her heart. Source Tweet

Seeking:

Fiction: Middle Grade; YA; Select Adult

Select Nonfiction

"Whatever the age category or genre, Lauren is passionate about finding diverse and underrepresented voices. In YA, she’d love to find authentic teen voices in any and all genres. She is especially fond of fantasy, magical realism, and space operas; contemporary stories with a hook; and anything with a feminist bent. In Nonfiction, she's particularly hungry for counter culture books, cocktail books with a twist/theme, or narrative nonfiction with a unique hook."

"I haven't been scared to turn off the light in far too long and something needs to be done about it... I'm also currently up in the air as to whether or not I believe in ghosts, hauntings, and the supernatural, so if you have something that can convince me one way or the other, I'd love to see it."

"She’s a voracious reader of sci-fi, but not a huge fan of superheroes, vampires (except for Edward), witches, erotica or anything overtly dark."

How to submit: Ali is accepting queries here. Click here for the agency's submissions guidelines.Follow Ali on Twitter @HerringAli.

Ejusdem Generis

We hope you will take some of the time you normally would spend reading our witty and amusing final thoughts to donate or volunteer to help alleviate someone's suffering. We've even found an avenue related to writing and publishing! "The #PubforPR has come together to create an auction to benefit Puerto Rico’s relief efforts after hurricane María. All funds raised will go directly to Unidos por Puerto Rico and ConPRmetidos, two carefully vetted local charity organizations. Hundreds of talented authors, editors, illustrators, and literary agents have joined together in offering their time, talent, and treasure to support Puerto Rico. Through this auction, you can bid on signed book bundles, personalized artwork, one-on-one conversations with editors or agents, and hundreds of other prizes. The premise is simple: bid early and often, win and donate, claim your prize."

Grad Student Freelancers (GSF) is dedicated to helping authors take care of the details of the publication process. Part of the process includes sifting through huge amounts of information to find important news, events, and tips that can give you an edge in the publication process. Every week GSF will provide three lists of curated information focused on helping writers get published. Our goal is to gather what's important from the web in the past week, so you can focus more on your writing.

Archives

Archives

Kelly was indispensable in her organization and attention to detail with my book project for the University of Chicago. She had a large amount of material to review and manage, lots of sources to research and cite, and was able to tackle it all while needing very little guidance from me. Beyond that, she also compiled chapter abstracts and keywords, and went back through my work multiple times as changes were made. She was invaluable.

Jane Friedman, publishing consultant and former publisher of Writer's Digest

Kelly's tenacity in tracking down rights holders was exceptional. I'm convinced she is actually a detective.Glenn Kammen, Author

Christopher was exactly what I was looking for. He is a great biblical scholar of historical criticism who held my writing feet to the fire. The biggest surprise is how good he is as a straight-up editor. It's ironic that I like his red pen more than a few "professional" editors I've worked with. Perhaps all editors should be put through the mandatory rigor of grading students' papers for a few years, as well as writing their own papers for tough professors.Kevin Bader, writer